It would be hard to find two candidates running for the same seat in the Texas Legislature who have more striking similarities than state Rep. Sarah Davis, the Republican who won a narrow upset victory in 2010 in Harris County's District 134, and her Democratic challenger, Ann Johnson.

Both are in their 30s - Davis is 36, Johnson 38 - both are lawyers and both are cancer survivors. Davis defeated then-state Rep. Ellen Cohen in her first run for public office. Johnson, the daughter of a former state representative and a retired civil judge, is running for the first time.

The similarities between the two women do not extend to their politics, and therein lies what could be an Achilles heel for Davis as she seeks re-election in the upscale district, which includes Rice University and the Texas Medical Center. In an area that takes great pride in its schools, she went along with her fellow Republicans and voted for major cuts in education funding.

As a result, District 134 is one of the few House seats believed to be in play. Although Davis has the incumbent's edge in a Republican-leaning district, the race has become one of the most competitive - and expensive - in the state. Both candidates are spending freely, blanketing the district regularly with mailers.

"We knew there were funding cuts coming down the line for Texas schools," said Sue Deigaard, a stay-at-home mom, "so, as a community, on a grass-roots level, we organized, we engaged other parents to give Sarah Davis the support as a legislator to say, 'Hey, as you're casting your vote on the budget, you have hundreds of parents, 400 petitions, hundreds of letters, phone calls, emails in a district you won by 750 votes.' "

Their message, Deigaard said, was "to, basically, give her the support, so that she could vote in a different direction from her party. And, as her record shows, she didn't do that. So now we have this very motivated base of parents, bipartisan - Republicans and Democrats - who are supporting Ann Johnson."

$27 billion deficit

Davis, a fiscal conservative who is moderate on social issues, insists that Deigaard and other parents should not have been surprised.

"When I was campaigning, we all, particularly me, were campaigning on a message that we had a $27 billion budget deficit, and we're going to have to balance the budget," she said one evening recently. "I am opposed to increasing taxes or finding revenue, and I won, as did a hundred other Republicans, probably campaigning on the exact same message."

Davis also contends that schools in the district were not adversely affected and that she has heard few complaints this fall from parents or educators.

"We supported a budget at the end that devoted 57 percent of general revenue to the agencies of public education," she said. "I don't know how much more of the budget does someone think should be devoted to public education."

By not covering statewide growth in school enrollments, the budget approved by the GOP-led Legislature effectively cut $5.3 billion from public education under its previous funding model.

As a lawyer, Davis defends businesses sued in personal injury cases. Johnson, a former prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney's Office, represents children in juvenile court and is an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law. If elected, she would be the first openly lesbian state legislator.

Medical Center focus

Both agree on the need to be attentive to the world-renowned Texas Medical Center, the major employer in District 134.

Davis, who serves on the House Public Health Committee, particularly is concerned about a doctor shortage in Texas. The two medical schools in the Medical Center, Baylor and the University of Texas, need funding for residency training, she says, so tomorrow's doctors do not leave the state for their residencies and never come back.

Although Davis voted to cut funding for state-subsidized contraception and cancer screenings, she broke with her party by voting against a bill to require women seeking abortions to receive a sonogram. She also was the only Republican to speak out against proposed rules that would prohibit doctors in the Texas Women's Health Program from discussing abortion with their patients. She maintained that both measures infringe on the doctor-patient relationship.

Johnson charges that on most issues of concern for District 134, Davis was voting her party, not the district.

"We are doing everything we can to make sure that the district knows that I am the option and the alternative to the member they have that cut their medical center funding, that cut their education funding, and is truly the advocate who will stand up for the Texas Medical Center and for children," Johnson said.

Davis says water, infrastructure and the budget will be among her priorities next January, but Johnson wants to keep the focus on education.

Parents in the district "understand that we've got to get this issue corrected. I've talked to business folks who say the same thing, which is: If you're not giving this generation the tools, not only will we not be able to compete today but also tomorrow, and that's a vital component of the Texas economy," Johnson said.

An uphill battle

Rice University political scientist Mark Jones, a resident of the district, described Davis and Johnson as "very solid candidates" but sees an uphill battle for Johnson.

"The combination of a Democrat who is not well-known by many district voters and lacks the financial resources to effectively introduce herself to a majority of voters, with a Republican who has a positive image and has not done anything to alienate most GOP moderates and independents, should result in the race following the district's natural tendency to vote Republican," Jones said in an email.